For the merchandising of products, and for providing conversation pieces in homes and offices, it is desirable to utilize simple attention capturing devices. While it is desirable that such devices be simple, it is also often desirable that some sort of a gimmick or unusual feature be associated with the display to attract and hold a viewer's interest.
According to the present invention, a display assembly is provided that is effective in capturing and holding a viewer's attention. The assembly according to the present invention is simple, inexpensive, and reliable and is imminently suitable as a point of purchase display item, conversation piece, or novelty item.
According to the present invention, an assembly is provided which comprises a base, a simple, inexpensive d.c. motor mounted within the base, the motor having a shaft, a solar cell, and a sign member. Means are provided, such as an outwardly extending arm or a flattened surface portion, for operatively connecting the solar cell to the base while providing electrical interconnection between the solar cell and the motor. The sign member has an elongated shaft operatively connected thereto and elongated in a plane substantially coincident with or parallel to the sign member planar surface having indicia formed thereon. Means are provided for interconnecting the sign member shaft and the motor shaft so that the motor rotates the sign member with respect to the base when incident radiation of sufficient intensity strikes the solar cell. The sign member planar surface provides a message area which can be utilized to display company logos, humorous sayings, people's names and title, etc., the rotation of the sign member combined with the solar cell as the power source providing an effective attention getting and holding arrangement.
Most inexpensive d.c. motors rotate the shafts associated therewith at a speed too fast for normal recognition of indicia on a sign member connected to such a shaft. Therefore, according to the present invention the sign member is slowed down to a speed appropriate for normal recognition in a simple and inexpensive manner. This is accomplished by choosing the area of the sign member, and by constructing the means for interconnecting the sign member shaft and the motor shaft, so that the desired lower speed of rotation is obtained. The means for interconnecting the sign member shaft and the motor shaft preferably consists essentially of an elongated sleeve formed in the end of the sign member shaft distal from the sign member having a circular inside diameter slightly greater than the circular outside diameter of the motor shaft so that the sign member shaft slips over the motor shaft and forms an interference fit, but not a press fit, therewith. The sign member and elongated shaft may be formed of injection molded plastic, and the sleeve inside diameter may be chosen of approximately 0.010 inches greater than the motor shaft diameter, to provide the interference, but not press, fit.
The base may be formed in a wide variety of manners, such as with a flat bottom portion for placing on a table surface or the like, or being sized to fit on the top of a conventional beer can, or having a tubular bottom adapted to sit over the neck of a whiskey bottle. Additionally, especially for point of purchase displays, a rechargable battery may be provided, as well as circuitry means for operatively connecting the solar cell, battery, and d.c. motor so that the motor will run and the battery will be recharged when sufficient incident radiation strikes the solar cell, and so that the motor will be run by the battery when insufficient incident radiation strikes the solar cell.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simple attention-getting and holding display assembly. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.